DJ Williams returning to Southern Illinois for his senior year

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The new year begins with great news for Saluki Football. All-American quarterback DJ Williams announced on Monday that he will return to Southern Illinois for his final season of college football in 2026.

Following a season in which he accounted for a school-record 40 touchdowns, the Chicago native would have had plenty of suitors in the NCAA transfer portal — college football’s version of free agency that opened Friday. Instead, he plans to finish the job he started at Southern Illinois.

“Obviously, we're ecstatic to have him back,” said SIU head coach Nick Hill. “DJ did it the right way. He took some time to make an informed decision on what's best for him and his family, and I think he came to the conclusion that all he wants to do and accomplish in his football career is here at SIU.”

After transferring to Southern from Murray State two years ago, Williams flashed elite potential for SIU during an injury-shortened 2024 campaign. In three games, he produced eight touchdowns, but suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand in the win over Incarnate Word in Game 3.

In 2025, Williams was one of the top players in the FCS, earning All-American honors and finishing eighth in the Payton Award voting that goes to the nation’s best player. He was second in the FCS behind Youngstown State’s Beau Brungard in points responsible for (246), while passing for 2,846 yards with 22 touchdowns and a 63 percent completion percentage. In Week Four at SEMO, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound QB totaled 493 all-purpose yards and earned National Player of the Week honors.

“He's a joy to coach, not just from the talent standpoint, but he just has a presence about himself that makes people around him better,” Hill said. "He values the right things. He has a vision for himself and what he wants to accomplish in his football career."

An electric dual-threat player, Williams set the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback (847) and totaled 18 rushing touchdowns in 2025. He had three 100-yard rushing efforts on the season — 128 yards at UT Martin, 151 yards at SEMO, and 134 yards at Illinois State.

There were hints the Chicago native would return. Throughout the 2025 season, he spoke warmly of his relationship with Hill and his development under the head coach who is also the offensive coordinator and his position coach.

“DJ has the right mindset that he wants to get better, he wants to be coached,” Hill said. “As his coach, that makes you excited. It challenges me. For the last month, I've been thinking about, how can I make him even better? What are the things that we can put in place to challenge him, to make him grow?"

The Salukis will also have their top running back in the fold for 2026, as Ed Robinson (655 yards, 7.2 yard average) has already confirmed he will be back, and wide receiver Allen Middleton announced his commitment to Southern on Sunday.

Going forward, Williams’ presence should weigh heavily in recruiting, Hill said.

“People are going to want to play with DJ,” Hill predicted. “I mean, if you're a wide receiver, you want to know who's the quarterback, what's your offensive scheme. They’ll see that we’ve always had good receivers here.”

Williams’ decision to return is a huge win for the program, which finished 7-5 on the season, narrowly missing the playoffs.

“The number one stat for quarterbacks is winning, and DJ's determined to do that," Hill said. "There's a legacy piece to this, as well. He'll be at Southern Illinois for three years. I think he saw how Jeremy Chinn comes back and goes into the Hall of Fame and the reception of having a college home to go back to. In this era, a lot of kids might not have that. He valued that. He wants a chance to be that first-ballot Hall of Famer, one of the best players to ever put on the uniform here.”